Post subject: $50 Budget for PSU. What is about the quietest I can get?

Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2013 6:56 am

Joined: Sat Apr 08, 2006 9:29 amPosts: 39

I have about $50 left in the budget for a new PSU for my HTPC.I am currently running an i3-3225, slightly under volted, AMD 5670, 4gb ddr 3, Gigabyte Z77DS3H motherboard.I know my load is under 300w, but for future expansion I was thinking 400w or more.I realize top line PSU's are out and many might scoff at my budget, but I just don't have the money.I bought an Antec Basiq 450 based on some of the online reviews and it is just a little too loud for me.This replaced a Corsair VX-550 that died, after years of use. I thought this was very quiet.Any suggestions for the moderately poor?

Post subject: Re: $50 Budget for PSU. What is about the quietest I can ge

Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2013 12:40 pm

Joined: Sat Apr 08, 2006 9:29 amPosts: 39

Nothing wrong with the Antec, except for it being louder than I would like.It isn't a screamer by any means. it's just the woosh of the airflow from the fan.I could do a fan swap, but the I don't know what kind of airflow range I should look at.I suspect the fan is due to smaller heat sinks used to save on cost and I wouldn't want to risk it unless I knew it would be enough.I have some Yate Loon fans D12SH-12 if those would be enough.I would rather buy one that fits my needs rather than modify one to fit it.I keep the warranty that way, but I will do what I need to to get silent.

Post subject: Re: $50 Budget for PSU. What is about the quietest I can ge

Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2013 2:49 pm

Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2008 1:49 pmPosts: 1588Location: UK

markrb wrote:

Nothing wrong with the Antec, except for it being louder than I would like.

OK, in that case its worth trying to do something about the fan rather than getting a whole new PSU.

markrb wrote:

I could do a fan swap, but the I don't know what kind of airflow range I should look at.I suspect the fan is due to smaller heat sinks used to save on cost and I wouldn't want to risk it unless I knew it would be enough.

Consider this: You have a 450W PSU. You are using 150W max. Therefore the PSU is only wasting around a third of the maximum heat that it is intended to dissipate. You would therefore need the fan to be spinning at only a third of the maximum speed to clear the heat effectively. What I would suggest you do is 5V the PSU fan. This will bring it down to a near-silent level and should keep the PSU more than cool enough at this power range - all you lose is some of the crazy amount of power reserve that you have as it would then be unwise to expect it to put out 400W plus.

To 5V the PSU fan you can do this internally within the PSU with a soldering iron onto a 5V terminal or you could use a 5V adaptor on an external molex.

Post subject: Re: $50 Budget for PSU. What is about the quietest I can ge

Posted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 11:58 am

Joined: Sat Apr 08, 2006 9:29 amPosts: 39

I took the PSU apart and had to cut the fan wire as it's soldered in.The fan is a Yate Loon with 88CFM. I spliced in a Yate Loon I had around the house that does 47 CFM.Air is not even close to warm coming out of the PSU and it is a bit less noisy.Looks like this was the best choice.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum